Monday June 29th 2026
Lisa Petrie, John McNab's mum and campaigner (on left), alongside Midlothian Council Leader Kelly Parry and a local police officer
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
A mother whose son was killed in a knife crime hopes a campaign launched in Penicuik today will help save lives and prevent other families experiencing the same tragedy.
John Mcnab, 22, was murdered with a knife in Leith last September, and now his mother Lisa Petrie has started a campaign to raise awareness and place life-saving bleed-control kits in community hubs across Midlothian.
The county’s first kit was unveiled today at an event in Food Facts Friends in Penicuik, with the bleed kit being placed in the food pantry.
Working alongside the pantry’s CEO Mark Wells, Lisa’s ‘Not in Vain’ campaign has spread to Midlothian following Lisa fighting for kits across the country which has already seen 92 places in Edinburgh, Dundee and further North.
“If you use a knife, all of the life’s involved are ruined, just as well as the person you’ve used it on. The whole family’s ruined”, Lisa explained, “I want these kits widely available so one coming here is amazing and the help of Mark to promote it can really raise more awareness.”
With the goal of ‘getting more kits widely available across Midlothian, Edinburgh and the whole of Scotland’, Lisa created both the kits and the campaign following the tragic passing of her son.
Highlighting issues with other bleed kits, such as some available for purchase online for around £8 that only have 5 or 6 items and only deals with one bleed, Lisa’s kits can deal with multiple bleeds, cardiac arrest and other risks that can occur after a stabbing.
Lisa's bleed kits
She explained: “After John, I did bleed kit training and I researched the bags. I wanted a kit where it would deal with multiple bleeds because John was stabbed four times so one of the kits would have only dealt with one bleed rather than four bleeds.
“I’ve put 15 items into my kits. John’s friends told us that they had to strip down to their boxers to keep John warm until paramedics arrived, so I have added a blanket and other items.”
At the launch event today, Midlothian Council Leader Kelly Parry told the Midlothian View that they plan to install bleed kits in every secondary school in the county, alongside potentially introducing them in bars and pubs.
She explained: “We are going to roll these out in all our secondary schools and we will certainly be encouraging a lot of organisations across Midlothian to do the same.
It is expected that the cost for installing kits in secondary schools will come out of the education budget.
Councillor Parry added: “This is the first kit in Midlothian and I hope it will be the first of many more. I think it’s a really important message, particularly relating to John, who was a young person who should still be here today but isn’t so having one of these kits in his circumstances may well have saved his life.
“So having kits like this will absolutely, certainly, hopefully prevent and save lives.”
The kits put together by Lisa contain:
– Trauma dressing to control the bleed which can hold up to 500-750ml of blood
– Everyday first aid items wich as bandages and gauze
– Gloves, pen and scissors
– Tourniquet
Watch below Lisa demonstrating how to use the kits.
The introduction of the kit to Midlothian was put forward by Food Facts Friends CEO Mark Wells who got in contact with Lisa following the passing of John. Mark aimed to introucue the first kit to Midlothian after they were successfully distributed across Edinburgh, hoping to see more across Midlothian and Scotland.
Lisa’s ‘Not in Vain’ campaign and John bleed kits has received strong political support, with Lisa being nominated by Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith MSP Ben Macpherson for the Local Hero Award due to her vital work and campaigning.
Posting to Facebook Ben Macpherson MSP explained: “The courage Lisa has shown to turn her grief into positive action is genuinely remarkable. From campaigning to have bleed kits available in public places in emergencies to efforts we’re working on together to try to change the law, Lisa’s proactive response to her son’s murder is truly inspirational. It’s a real honour to represent and support her.
Speaking at today’s event, Lisa said:
“Since John’s passing, I have turned my grief into trying to save other people’s lives. We came up with these amazing bleed kits, if one person is saved then John won’t have died in vain, these kits are not widely available.
“We are also fighting to get knives off the shelves, and change the law on knife crime. No more people should be dying through knife crime so let’s stand together to make change.”
Watch the full announcement at the event below.
To find your nearest bleed control kit, visit the UK Bleed Control Kit Map online.
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